The Slakoth card from EX Ruby & Sapphire (card 45/109) carries a current market value of roughly $7 to $8 for a standard copy, based on recent aggregated marketplace pricing. It is an Uncommon, Colorless Basic Pokémon with 40 HP, and despite being one of the more ordinary cards in the set by rarity, it holds steady collector interest as a piece of the very first EX-series expansion. If you are tracking its price, expect figures in the single-digit dollar range for ungraded regular copies, with reverse holo and graded versions commanding meaningfully more.
To put that in concrete terms: a standard near-mint Slakoth typically changes hands in the $7-8 window, while a graded PSA 8 NM-MT reverse holo copy has appeared on the secondary market at a premium well above that baseline. The gap between those two figures illustrates the central truth of pricing this card — the number you see depends entirely on which version and condition you are actually looking at. The card was illustrated by Kagemaru Himeno and released as part of the EX Ruby & Sapphire set in 2003, the expansion that launched the EX era of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Its modest stats and Uncommon rarity place it firmly in the bulk-to-mid tier, but the set’s historical importance gives even its common members a floor of demand.
Table of Contents
- What Does Price Charting for EX Ruby and Sapphire Slakoth Actually Tell You?
- How Reliable Are the Price Numbers for Slakoth 45/109?
- What Makes the EX Ruby & Sapphire Set Important for Slakoth’s Value?
- Regular Versus Reverse Holo: Which Slakoth Should You Track?
- What Pitfalls Should You Watch for When Pricing Slakoth?
- How Does Slakoth Compare to Other Cards in the Same Set?
- Where Does Slakoth’s Pricing Data Come From?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Does Price Charting for EX Ruby and Sapphire Slakoth Actually Tell You?
price charting for a card like Slakoth 45/109 is the practice of tracking its sale prices over time across marketplaces so you can see where the value sits and where it is heading. For this particular card, the aggregated data points to a market value around $7-8 for the standard version, a figure drawn from completed and active listings on platforms like TCGplayer and real-time price aggregators. That number is a snapshot, not a fixed price — it moves with supply, demand, and the broader nostalgia cycle for early EX-era cards. The most important thing price charting reveals is the spread between versions.
Slakoth was printed in both a regular finish and a reverse holo finish, and the two trade at different levels. A regular copy anchors the lower end near that $7-8 mark, while reverse holo copies, being scarcer and more visually distinctive, sit above it. Compare this to a chase card in the same set, where a single rare EX can command hundreds of dollars, and you can see why Slakoth is treated as an accessible entry point rather than an investment centerpiece. As an example of how the data plays out in practice: a PSA 8 NM-MT reverse holo Slakoth has been listed on eBay, and graded examples like that one demonstrate how a third-party grade plus the reverse holo finish stack two premiums on top of the base card. Someone reading only the $7-8 standard figure would badly underestimate what a graded holo copy costs.
How Reliable Are the Price Numbers for Slakoth 45/109?
The single-dollar figures you encounter for Slakoth are aggregated marketplace estimates, not guaranteed transaction prices, and that distinction matters. When a pricing source lists Slakoth at roughly $7-8, it is averaging across listings that may differ in condition, seller reputation, shipping costs, and whether the card is regular or reverse holo. The headline number smooths over all of that, which is convenient but can mislead you if you treat it as gospel. The clearest limitation is condition sensitivity. A heavily played Slakoth might sell for a dollar or two, while a pristine reverse holo or a graded copy can multiply the base value several times over.
Prices “vary widely by condition, finish, and grading,” and any chart showing a single line is collapsing a wide distribution into one point. Treat the posted value as the center of a range, not the price you will actually pay or receive. A practical warning: be cautious about reading too much into a single listing, especially an active (unsold) one. An eBay seller can ask any price they like for a PSA 8 reverse holo, but the asking price is not the sold price. For a card this inexpensive, even a few outlier listings can skew a casual glance at the market, so favor sources that distinguish completed sales from active asks.
What Makes the EX Ruby & Sapphire Set Important for Slakoth’s Value?
Slakoth’s value is propped up less by the card itself than by the set it belongs to. EX Ruby & Sapphire was the first expansion in the EX series, released in 2003, and it contains 109 cards. As the inaugural set of an era that introduced Pokémon-ex mechanics, it carries collector significance that filters down even to its Uncommon and Common cards. A Slakoth from this set is, in effect, a piece of TCG history, and that context supports its modest but durable demand.
This set-driven demand is why a card with 40 HP, a single retreat cost, and Uncommon rarity does not simply fall to bulk pricing of a few cents. Collectors assembling a complete 109-card EX Ruby & Sapphire run need Slakoth, and set completists are a reliable source of baseline buying. Compare this to an Uncommon from a less storied modern set, which might genuinely sit at bulk value — the EX Ruby & Sapphire pedigree is what keeps Slakoth in the several-dollar range. As a concrete example, the Slakoth line continues with Vigoroth and Slaking elsewhere in the era, and collectors who chase evolutionary lines or specific illustrators add another layer of demand. Kagemaru Himeno, who illustrated this Slakoth, is a well-known Pokémon TCG artist, and her involvement is the kind of detail that nudges interest above pure functional value.
Regular Versus Reverse Holo: Which Slakoth Should You Track?
The single most useful decision when pricing Slakoth 45/109 is to first identify whether you are dealing with the regular or the reverse holo version, because they occupy different tiers. The regular card sits at the accessible end, around the $7-8 aggregated value, and is the version most set completists buy. The reverse holo, with its shimmering non-foil-area pattern, is scarcer and trades at a premium, making it the version collectors and graders tend to prioritize. The tradeoff comes down to cost versus long-term appeal.
If your goal is simply to complete the EX Ruby & Sapphire set affordably, the regular Slakoth is the sensible target — you get the card you need without paying the holo premium. If you are building a higher-grade or display-focused collection, the reverse holo justifies its extra cost through scarcity and visual appeal, and it is the version more likely to be worth grading. Buying a regular copy and later wishing you had the reverse holo is a common and avoidable misstep. For a sense of the spread, retailers list both finishes separately, and the reverse holo consistently carries a higher asking price than the regular. When you pull a price figure, always confirm which finish it refers to; a $7-8 quote almost certainly describes the regular card, not a graded reverse holo that could cost several times more.
What Pitfalls Should You Watch for When Pricing Slakoth?
The biggest pitfall is conflating the different versions and conditions under one number. Because Slakoth exists in regular and reverse holo finishes, in raw and graded states, and across a full spectrum of conditions, a single quoted price is almost always incomplete. A buyer who sees “$7-8” and then encounters a graded PSA 8 reverse holo at a multiple of that figure may wrongly assume the seller is gouging, when in reality the two cards are not comparable products at all. A second limitation is the thinness of the market for any one version. Slakoth is an inexpensive Uncommon, which means it does not sell in high enough volume for its price history to be perfectly smooth.
Sparse sales data makes individual transactions disproportionately influential, so a single high or low sale can distort the apparent trend. When sales are infrequent, lean on the longer-term range rather than the most recent data point. Finally, be wary of grading economics on a low-value card. Paying to grade a regular Slakoth worth a few dollars rarely makes financial sense once grading fees are factored in, since the cost of grading can exceed the card’s raw value. Grading tends to pay off only on the reverse holo or on exceptionally clean copies that have a realistic shot at a high grade — and even then, the math is tight on a card in this price tier.
How Does Slakoth Compare to Other Cards in the Same Set?
Within EX Ruby & Sapphire’s 109-card lineup, Slakoth sits comfortably in the lower-to-middle value band. Its $7-8 standard figure places it above true bulk commons but far below the set’s headline Pokémon-ex cards, which can command tens or hundreds of dollars depending on condition. As a Colorless Basic with 40 HP and a single retreat cost, it was never a competitive staple, so its value rests on collectibility rather than playability.
A useful comparison: a chase card from this set in graded condition can outvalue a raw Slakoth by a factor of fifty or more. That contrast is exactly why price charting matters — it stops you from overpaying for a common card or underpricing a genuine rarity. Knowing that Slakoth anchors the affordable tier lets you allocate a collecting budget sensibly, spending the bulk of it on the set’s true keys while picking up Slakoth for pocket change.
Where Does Slakoth’s Pricing Data Come From?
The figures for Slakoth 45/109 are pulled from a mix of marketplace and catalog sources. TCGplayer maintains product-level pricing for the card, real-time aggregators report a market value in the $7-8 range, and secondary marketplaces like eBay show individual listings such as the PSA 8 NM-MT reverse holo example. Catalog references including Bulbapedia and CardTrader confirm the card’s identity — 45/109, Uncommon, Colorless, illustrated by Kagemaru Himeno — which is essential for making sure you are pricing the right printing.
Cross-referencing these sources is the practical safeguard. Card identity details from Bulbapedia and pricing from TCGplayer together let you confirm both what the card is and what it sells for, so you do not accidentally price a different Slakoth printing from a later set. For a card with multiple finishes and a long print history across the franchise, matching the exact set number 45/109 before trusting any dollar figure is the step that keeps your data accurate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is EX Ruby & Sapphire Slakoth worth?
A standard copy carries an aggregated market value of roughly $7-8, though reverse holo and graded versions sell for meaningfully more depending on condition.
What is Slakoth’s card number in EX Ruby & Sapphire?
It is card 45 of 109, an Uncommon Colorless Basic Pokémon with 40 HP and a retreat cost of 1.
Does Slakoth come in a reverse holo version?
Yes. Slakoth 45/109 was printed in both regular and reverse holo finishes, with the reverse holo trading at a premium over the regular card.
Is it worth grading my Slakoth card?
For a regular copy worth a few dollars, grading fees usually exceed the payoff. Grading makes more sense on a clean reverse holo with a realistic shot at a high grade.
Who illustrated the EX Ruby & Sapphire Slakoth?
Kagemaru Himeno, a well-known Pokémon TCG artist, illustrated card 45/109.
